NBA Mock Draft 2016: Order of Selections and Final 1st-Round Team Predictions

Draft day provides a sense of finality over a yearlong process, and Thursday's 2016 NBA draft is the latest example. 

But not for long.

Before the final pick gets called Thursday night, scouts will already begin to slot boards together for the next class. Fans, more importantly, aren't anywhere close to a sense of finality—rather, there is a sense of a new beginning with new faces in the fold and new possibilities as the league turns to free agency next.

For those who are falling behind on the fastest offering of information down the stretch, here's a look at an updated mock based on team need and prospect value, with some of the bigger talking points highlighted after the table.

2016 NBA Mock Draft

Pick	Team	Player
1.	Philadelphia 76ers	F Ben Simmons, LSU
2.	Los Angeles Lakers	SF Brandon Ingram, Duke
3.	Boston Celtics (via Brooklyn)	PF Dragan Bender, Croatia
4.	Phoenix Suns	SG Jamal Murray, Kentucky
5.	Minnesota Timberwolves	SF Jaylen Brown, California
6.	New Orleans Pelicans	F Marquese Chriss, Washington
7.	Denver Nuggets (via New York)	PG Kris Dunn, Providence
8.	Sacramento Kings	SG Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
9.	Toronto Raptors (via Denver)	C Jakob Poeltl, Utah
10.	Milwaukee Bucks	C Thon Maker, Orangeville Prep
11.	Orlando Magic	PF/C Deyonta Davis, Michigan State
12.	Atlanta Hawks (via Utah)	F Henry Ellenson, Marquette
13.	Phoenix Suns (via Washington)	C Skal Labissiere, Kentucky
14.	Chicago Bulls	G Tyler Ulis, Kentucky
15.	Denver Nuggets (via Houston)	SG Furkan Korkmaz, Turkey
16.	Boston Celtics (via Dallas)	SG Timothe Luwawu, France
17.	Memphis Grizzlies	PG Dejounte Murray, Washington
18.	Detroit Pistons	SG Denzel Valentine, Michigan State
19.	Denver Nuggets (via Portland)	G Caris LeVert, Michigan
20.	Indiana Pacers	PF Brice Johnson, North Carolina
21.	Atlanta Hawks	C Diamond Stone, Maryland
22.	Charlotte Hornets	PF Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga
23.	Boston Celtics	F Paul Zipser, Germany
24.	Philadelphia 76ers (via Miami)	G Malik Beasley, Florida State
25.	Los Angeles Clippers	C Cheick Diallo, Kansas
26.	Philadelphia 76ers (via Oklahoma City)	F Dorian Finney-Smith, Florida
27.	Toronto Raptors	F Taurean Prince, Baylor
28.	Phoenix Suns (via Cleveland)	C Damian Jones, Vanderbilt
29.	San Antonio Spurs	PG Demetrius Jackson, Notre Dame
30.	Golden State Warriors	C Zhou Qi, China

No. 12 pick moved to Atlanta via Jeff Teague three-team trade, according to ESPN.com.

Draft-Day Storylines To Watch

The Plight of Thon Maker 

Thon Maker has had the wildest ride of any draft prospect this year. 

Maker, a tantalizing prospect because he's 7'1" and 216 pounds with the ability to shoot from anywhere on the court, wasn't even a sure thing to enter the draft class. Yet here he is after bucking the draft process through a loophole, though the drama hasn't ended just yet.

He was once considered a lottery pick, but a new issue popped up on draft day for Maker, and it's one that has teams allegedly taking him off the board. Sports Illustrated's Jake Fischer shared the details:

Indeed, Maker has been the most intriguing prospect the entire way, for better or worse.

There's not really a comparison for the Australian prospect, whose height is only bested by his eye-popping reach, which comes in at 9'3", according to ESPN.com. He needs to add bulk but can otherwise run the floor like a guard and protect the rim well.

In the mock above, Maker still comes off the board 10th to the Milwaukee Bucks, joining an already freakishly athletic team led by Giannis Antetokounmpo. He's a project in the utmost sense, but the upside is huge, and rumblings about his age just aren't enough to knock him far down the board.

And besides, this could be one heck of an elaborate smoke screen. Either way, the mystery ends Thursday.

Maybe.

Phoenix's Quest To Improve

The Phoenix Suns have the No. 4 pick in the draft but get lost in most of the discussion. 

Which is fair enough, since the Suns mustered a 23-win season last year and notables such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics come before them in the order with much more interesting scenarios at hand.

It's hard to figure out what the Suns want to do, with the Eric Bledsoe-Brandon Knight duo serving as the headline act and Devin Booker looking like a promising prospect. Phoenix has too much talent in the backcourt and nowhere else and not enough in the way of assets to make a quick turnaround.

Barring a trade, of course. According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the front office wants to move one of its two veteran guards:

Considering Knight boasts a cap hit of $12.6 million next year on a deal through 2020 and Bledsoe is a $14 million hit on a deal through 2019, both according to Spotrac, finding a dance partner won't be the easiest thing in the world.

Still, if the Suns are going to find a deal, the best chance would come during the draft when names start flying off the board. The mock above has the Suns grabbing Kentucky's Jamal Murray at No. 4 on a best-player-available slant.

But the Suns are worth watching because a desperate team could use a heightened sense of urgency to make major splashes, which could steal the spotlight from more notable franchises.

Minnesota's Sneaky Luxury 

Folks don't hear much about the Minnesota Timberwolves either, which is a shame.

The Timberwolves clutch the fifth pick in the draft after a 29-win campaign, but it's a deceptive situation if there ever was one—the team sits in the most luxurious position of any in the draft.

A winning team needs a point guard. Minnesota has that with Ricky Rubio, who averaged 10.1 points and 8.6 assists last year. It needs a potential superstar, which Andrew Wiggins hits on the head. A possible All-Star big man doesn't hurt, and Karl-Anthony Towns has that covered after pulling in the NBA Rookie of the Year award.

What the Timberwolves need is time to grow and develop together—they get that, plus a top-five pick this year.

Said pick in the mock above is California forward Jaylen Brown, a freak athlete at 6'7" and 223 pounds who is just 19 years old. He averaged 14.6 points per game as a freshman and has some of the highest upside of any player in the class.

ESPN.com provided a positive tale of the tape:

"

Brown's NBA-ready body and elite athletic abilities are the major draw here. He looks like an NBA All-Star when he walks on the court in warm-ups. And despite a rocky freshman season, dig a little deeper into his high school years and you see a better shooter, passer and defender than we saw at Cal this season.

"

Brown's arrival lets the smaller Wiggins stay at shooting guard and gives the Timberwolves a sure thing to come at four of the five spots for years to come.

Then again, the Timberwolves could select just about anyone of value at No. 5, and it would be a major win for the franchise. Like them or not, Wiggins and the high-upside roster demand attention Thursday, given the impact the selection could have on the league's future.

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.